Devils' Fate
by Hellborn Pheonix
Summary: The 12th unit is back in Caleria, but after a run in with the 14th unit, things take a turn for the worse. Can Geddoe, Duke, and both their units put aside their differences and grudges to survive a devils' fate?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Suikoden or any other related trademarks... If I did, I sure as hell wouldn't be writing fanfics, and I would have made an extension on the third game. -nods-

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This was easily one of the hottest days so far this year in Caleria. Looking out into the distance, Ace could see the heat waves radiating from the hot sand. Lifting a gloved hand to his face, he wiped the line of sweat from his brow. "How the hell do I always get stuck with paying the bills, every time we get back here?" he muttered to himself, a worn piece of parchment clenched tightly in his fist. The slip was a long list of bills that he and the rest of the 12th unit had accumulated along their recent mission into the grasslands, consisting mainly of inn bills, weapon mending, and medicines for the not so rare, wild beast attack.

And he, Ace, had just paid for it all while the rest of his unit sat in the local tavern and drank like fish... _especially Joker_. Muttering curses about how _'unfair' _his life was, he reached out his hand and rested it on the warm metal handle to the pub, before wrenching the heavy wooden door open. Breathing a sigh of relieve as he escaped the heat, and was welcomed by the strong scent of alcohol, he narrowed his eyes as he searched for his, most likely, _'drunken'_ friends. Quickly spotting them in a nearby corner he started to head towards them, but stopped almost instantly as he realized who was with them... "Urgh... not again..." He cursed.

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Geddoe's dark eye had remained lowered to his food and drink the whole time Duke had rambled on. It was the same thing every time he and his team came back to base... Duke just never seemed to get over the fact that he, Geddoe, had beaten him in that duel not so long ago... His gaze only seemed to move when he got sight of Ace letting light into the dark bar as he swung open the tavern door. He exchanged a glance with him, slowly nodding his head to tell him to stay out of this... The last thing he needed was Ace joining in, and telling off the ever so boastful Duke, and the rest of Duke's unit, the 14th unit.

Finally looking up at Duke, and acknowledging his presence, Geddoe let out a breathe of impatience. "Duke, might we continue this conversation later? My team needs rest." he said simply, but in truth it was just Geddoes' way of telling him off, and Duke knew it.

Huffing angrily, Duke leaned back away from the 12th units table, letting his eyes wander over to a bickering Elaine and Queen, who seemed to be glaring daggers at each other, and a drunken Jacques, attempting to feed a fellow team mate a bone.

"Alright Geddoe, your ragtag team seems like they need a good night's rest at the inn anyway." he spat, picking up his mug and downing the last of its contents, before wiping off his mouth. "Come on." he smirked arrogantly to his unit, setting his now empty mug in front of the one-eyed man, before walking towards the exit, the rest of his team in tow.

Brushing roughly past Ace as he neared the door, he turned to face him. "You'll be looking for a new captain soon enough, Ace... tell that one-eyed mink I challenge him to another fight!" he seethed.

Grinning from ear to ear, Ace let out a laugh. "Ha, why bother scarface? the results will only be the same as last time." He grinned.

Eyes widening with fury, Duke let out a growl. "Don't start with me Ace, I'm not in the mood!" He hissed, his very words laced with venom, as he turned and exited the bar, the rest of his team going with him... all expect a very busty blond.

"Why Elaine, I always knew you had a thing for me." Ace jeered, brushing the hair from his eyes as he put on his best smile.

"Don't even bother Ace, I'm not going out with you." Elaine stated simply, a flirty smirk resting on her pale face.

"Well then... deny the sexy Ace then... but tell Duke that Geddoe accepts his challenge." Ace grinned.

Elaine gave him a look that said she would, before walking out the bar herself.

Smile fading slightly, Ace walked over to join the others, taking the seat that had been left untouched beside the captain.

"Flirting with that witch again I see." Queen grumbled, looking away from Aila, who was on her 13th soda, and as wide-eyed as a DoReMi elf.

"She totally digs me." Ace smirked confidently, winking an eye at Jacques. "Oh, before I forget captain... Ol' scarface wants another fight with you, and I said you accepted." Ace uttered, picking up an abandoned mug and taking a long drink.

Geddoe closed his eye for a moment, opening it when he had decided on chose words. "I thought he might... but why did you accept for me Ace?" He asked calmly.

Laughing briskly, Ace smiled. "Well, because you'd win of course, and you gotta show that toad whose boss!" He laughed.

"Yeah, Ace is right Geddoe! Duke is always strutting around, claiming that the last time you fought it was rigged, and that he would've won... you gotta put him is his place!" Joker offered, raising his mug as he spoke.

Geddoe sighed again, leaning back onto his seat. "It's not a matter of wining and losing... it's a matter of time... and I simply have no time to be fighting with Duke. We _do_ have other priorities you remember."

"We can't be worrying about the fire bringer and the true fire rune forever Geddoe! Think of it as a vacation then." Queen offered, shrugging her shoulders as she leaned back as well.

"Vacation?" Alia asked finally looking up from her soda rampage.

"..." (( Jacques of course. ))

Geddoe couldn't help but smile to himself at the persistence of his team... "Well... Fine then... but no more then three days." He sighed, admitting defeat.

"Alright! watch out ladies, here I come!" Ace announced, running another gloved hand through his shaggy brown hair.

"Ace, were you even listening?" Joker asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Of course, ya old geezer! The captain said vacation!"

"..." (( Jacques yet again. ))

"Oh gods, this is going to be a long three days..." Alia sighed.

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A/N: Well, there you have it... the first chapter... Is it short? I don't really know... this story never touched paper like my other ones... it just kinda started out of boredom while waiting for my art to load. Please comment, this is only my second fanfic ever. '


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Soon after posting the first chapter and receiving my first review, I got started on this next one. Thank you for your comments, and I'll try to update often. Though my spelling sucks something awful, I'll try to find a good spellchecker that I can download. '

Disclaimer: Still don't own Suikoden, and never will.

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It was late at night, and Geddoe and the rest of his team were staying at the local inn, which in truth was just above the tavern. Queen was staying down the hall with Aila, Joker and Jacques were in the room to Geddoes' right, and Ace was staying in Geddoes' room in the second bed. Surprisingly Geddoe was happy with these arrangements. Joker snored, Jacques talked like a blade bunny in his sleep, Queen was a night owl, and Aila would be up all hours with all the soda she had drank... It was surprisingly Ace who was the quickest asleep, and most quiet.

Geddoe had been contemplating all that had been said and done, earlier that day. He himself, couldn't believe that he had actually agreed to miss a few days from searching for the Flame champion. Though he had his own agenda for seeking out the bearer of the true fire rune, his team didn't seem to expect it. Then again... he had misjudged them before...

Casting a weary glance behind his shoulder as Ace turned in his sleep, he moved his gaze to his left hand. The glove that had so often covered the back of his hand, lay on the bed beside where he sat. He eyed the strange design on his hand for what seemed like ages, before a sharp knock at his door woke him from his thoughts. Quickly shoving the glove roughly onto his hand, he stood from the end of his bed, and walked to the door. Slowly opening the door, he was surprised to see that no one was near, only a thin piece of folded parchment on the floor by his feet. Bending down to pick it up, he could hear the fading footsteps of someone exiting the tavern below them.

Eye still focused on the letter, he stood and closed the door behind him as he turned around.

"What is it?" A weary voice to his left asked, waking Geddoe from his mystified state.

_'Ah, so Ace wasn't as heavy a sleeper as I thought...' _Geddoe thought to himself. Realizing it was too late to hide the notice he walked over to Ace and stood by his bed. "I don't know." He stated simply, as he opened the letter. He scanned it over quickly, before passing it to Ace.

Ace gave Geddoe a curious look, before accepting the parchment, and reading it aloud. "To the 12th units' Captain, Geddoe. I Duke of the 14th unit hereby accept your challenge to a fair fight. The time will be tomorrow at noon, along the main road to Caleria. No backing out of this one Geddoe, and the loser buys the victors unit a round of drinks. See yah then cyclops! Duke."

Ace blinked a couple of times, as the letter in his hand lowered. "Wasn't _he_ the one who challenged _you_ to a fight!"

"Yes... but I suppose if he makes it out as _me_ challenging _him_, he'll get credit even if he loses." Geddoe sighed, suppressing a smirk.

"So... that must mean he doesn't have a whole lot of confidence in winning then, eh?" Ace asked, his classic grin returning to his face.

"Perhaps..." Was all Geddoe offered as an answer, before walking back over to his own bed and sitting down.

"Shouldn't we tell the others about this?" Ace asked, waving around the letter like it was on fire.

"No they'll find out soon enough in the morning..." Geddoe stated, kicking off his heavy leather boots, and taking off his chest armor. Swinging his feet onto the bed, and placing his sword on the table to his right, he closed his eye and turned to face the window, not even bothering with sheets or blankets.

"Night then, I guess..." Ace muttered, laying the letter onto his nightstand table, and blowing out the bright lamp that had illuminated the entire room. Now surrounded by dark, Ace went to sleep as well.

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A figure in the dark street below watched as the room went dark, and disappeared into the night. Soon, another figure joined the first, a sort of weird glow emitting from the second.

"Did they both get a copy of the letter Sarah?" A masked figure asked the girl to his right.

"Yes."

"They know were to go then?"

"Yes."

"Good... now all that is left is to wait and see if either play into our hands." The masked man smirked.

The girl who had been identified as Sarah lowered her eyes to the dark ground, silent.

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Early the next morning, Geddoe awoke to the sound of birds outside his window. Rolling over on his bed, the first thing he noticed was that Ace's bed was empty, and he was gone. _'That's odd... usually he's the last one up...'_ he thought to himself with a frown. The second thing he noticed, was that the letter was gone... _'Oh... so that's why.'_ he thought, rolling his eye.

Forcing himself to get up, even though he wanted nothing more than a few more winks, he put on his armor and boots, and strapped his trusty sword to his side. "Better go see how much they know..." he sighed, crossing the room, and heading down the stairs to the bar. The pub was empty at this hour, no one drank this early so it was easy to find his team.

"Morning." He said simply, as he took a seat at the table, his gaze never moving from the letter in Queens' hands. "I take it you've all read it then." He asked, a hint of a smile on his face.

"Read what?" Jacques asked from behind him, as he entered the tavern from the front door.

"Geebus Jacques! Don't do _that_!" Ace muttered, seemingly surprised at the sudden appearance of the young boy.

"Jacques... where the hell were you last night? You weren't in the room when I went to sleep, or when I awoke..." Joker asked curiously. "Don't tell me you have a girl this far north, you dog you." Joker winked approvingly.

"Don't be stupid, or course not." Jacques uttered shyly under his breath as he blushed. "I just couldn't sleep with all the snoring you were doing, so I slept outside in a tree."

"In a tree?" Aila asked, her eyes widening with interest.

"Anyway, moving on!" Ace uttered, raising his arms tiredly. He looked over at Geddoe, his Ace-like grin returning. "Yeah, everyone but Jacques has." He stated, picking up his fork to pick at his breakfast. "You _have_ to go to this thing... I bet he's got all the units out there to watch too, probably hoping that you won't show up!" Ace seethed, flinging around a forkful of meat as he spoke.

"I doubt that Ace..." Queen uttered from the end of the table. "If he brought a lot of people to something like this, then he'd have to hope Geddoe wouldn't show... there's no way he'd risk losing in front of that many people."

"Hm... maybe your right... hey Captain, what do you think?"

Leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms, Geddoe sighed. "I don't know... this letter isn't really like Duke..."

"But... you _are_ going to go... right?" Joker asked.

"Yes... I'll go. But only because it's time I set things straight with Duke and I. If I don't, then he'll _never _leave us alone, and we'll _never _find the Fire bringer..." Geddoe said, his gaze moving from his team, to his left hand as he spoke.

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A/N: There, the second chapter. whew, I didn't even take a day off from this story... I'm diffently going to have to write more! You know the drill, review for more! I'd like to hear your input on what should happen next!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm so sorry that it took me so long to post this third chapter! I've been really busy lately with assignments and beastly homework! ...That, and I've been sick. D:

Keep the reviews coming!

Disclaimer: Still don't own Suikoden, or any of the related trademarks.

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It was starting to turn to late morning, and yet, the captain of the 14th unit still lay asleep in his room...

"Think we should wake him?" Elaine asked, waving the letter that she and the others had found outside Dukes' door, when they had awoken.

"I don't know..." The tall one eyed dog said from behind Elaine.

"Hm, maybe we shou-" Elaine started, but the sudden opening of the door before them stopped her train of thought.

Giving his neck a quick crack to one side, and stretching his arms as he stifled a yawn, Duke gazed sleepily at his team. "You're all up early." He stated, his cocky grin returning to his tan face for another day.

"Du-..." Elaine started, but was shortly cut off again.

"Hm, why do you guys look so serious?"

"Duke, we found a let-"

"I mean, did somebody die or something?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"DUKE!" Elaine yelled, waving the letter in front of his face.

"Hey, what's that you got there Elaine?" Duke asked, reaching forward to snag the letter from his teammate. Ignoring the fuming blond in front of him, Duke looked over the letter, his cocky grin sliding off his face, for a split second, before returning, this time if possible, even cockier than before.

"Well, well..." He uttered, his voice no longer filled with the aftereffects of sleep, as he finished reading the letter and lowered it from his face. "It seems like that one-eyed trickster really wants to fight after all... I thought Ace had just shot off his mouth in the bar... but it seems like Geddoe really thinks he'll win..." Duke laughed, tossing the letter aside.

Picking up the letter, Elaine glanced it over again. "Duke... do you really think Geddoe would write something like this?" She asked as words like _scarface, toad, _and _moron_ jumped off the page. "It's not really like him to use such taunts..." She muttered.

"What?!" Duke asked, turning around. "Of course Geddoe wrote this! Who else would have?" he asked, practically humming to himself in Anticipation

"Gah... never mind..." Elaine mumbled, as she turned to the others. "Guess we should get ready to hike up the mountain path..." She sighed.

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Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Geddoe and his team were at the blacksmiths, arguing about Geddoe's sword...

"Really... I don't think my sword needs to be any sharper, it's fine, just the way it-"

"Nonsense boss!" Ace uttered as he finally wretched the sheathed blade from Geddoes' grasp, and slammed it down in front of the blacksmith. "Level it up!" Ace grinned to the weapon temper.

"That'll be 12000 potch." The blacksmith said happily, as he took the weapon from the table, and placed it behind him. "It should be ready in a few minutes, and if your going into battle, might I also suggest visiting the item shop down the street?" He grinned.

"Ha ha..." Ace uttered humorlessly, as he turned back towards the door. "Come on, we might as well look around the town a bit while we wait... We haven't been back here in awhile." he muttered as he went out the door.

Sighing, Geddoe walked out of the shop as well, coming face to face with the rest of his unit who had been waiting outside.

"Ah, so Ace convinced you to get it tampered after all..." Joker grinned, slapping Geddoe on the back.

"More or less..." Geddoe sighed, a small smile spreading across his face.

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It had been roughly two hours since Geddoe had retrieved his newly sharpened and shiny sword, while laughing to himself as Ace cursed about having to pay for it... Now however, he and his team were nearing the desired meeting place for the fight. They climbed up the mountain path, careful to be weary of the cliff sides.

"Damnit, why'd that Duke have to pick _here_ of all places?! We've been walking for hours!" Ace seethed, as he huffed his way over a protruding rock in hopes of a shortcut.

"Guess he thinks that Geddoe will be tired from his hike." Aila uttered from beside Jacques.

"OH! That MUST be it! That sneaky bugger hopes that Geddoe will be worn out, and fall easily in the fight!" Ace shouted. "I'm such a genius!" He laughed.

Rolling her eyes, Aila walked up beside Queen. "What a doofus." She muttered.

"...Hm..." Jacques offered.

"Gah! How much longer till we get there!?" Ace seethed.

"We're here..." Geddoe uttered.

"Here where? This place looks exactly like every other stretch of rock and dirt along this road!" Ace muttered, plopping onto a rock.

"This is where the road forks isn't it?" Joker asked, taking a seat on the rock next to Ace.

Nodding his head silently, Geddoe leaned his back to the rock wall behind them. "He should be here soon..." He stated.

However, no sooner had he spoken did a wheezing and out of breath Duke climb onto the rocks at where the 12th unit stood, shortly followed by the rest of the 14th unit.

"There you are, y-you, -wheeze-, sneaky, -cough-, ferret!" Duke huffed out, collapsing on top of an outcrop of rocks across from Geddoe. "Think that a little hike up here will improve your chances eh? Well you can think again!" He spat, wiping the back of his hand across his forehead.

"What the hell are you talking about Duke?! Wasn't it _you_ who proposed that the fight should be up here?!" Queen asked, standing up from her seat on the rock.

"..." (( Jacques ))

Sitting up angrily, Duke stood to his feet and walked partway over to where Geddoe stood. "Don't play those mind games with me Geddoe!" He seethed. "Draw your sword!" He shouted with anger.

"Why you-" Ace started, but stopped as he saw Geddoe walk away from the wall, and towards the center of the road, towards Duke. "Boss?"

"Fine Duke, If it's a fight you so desire, than let's end it quickly... I have other priorities..." Geddoe sighed, his dark eye starring directly into Dukes'.

"_What_?... You arrogant bastard!" Duke snapped, unsheathing his sword, and holding it in front of him. Whipping it forwards, Duke ran at Geddoe. "Take this!"

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Watching the fight start to heat up from atop the cliff framing the mountain path, stood the two from the night before. However, this time they were with another. This one dressed in black and sporting a long blond braid and hat.

"Are you sure it's one of them who have it?" Spat the tall figure in black, tipping his hat to one side to reveal one red eye and one of blue.

"Yes Yuber, but try not to be so impatient." The masked bishop muttered.

"Well, how do you know that he'll reveal it in this small fray?" Yuber asked, his eyes narrowing as he concentrated on the two men below them.

"If he doesn't, then we'll just force him to..." The masked man continued.

"What if neither of them bears the true rune?" Sarah asked from behind them.

"Then we'll kill them... every last one." Yuber grinned, his hands resting on either blade at his sides...

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A/N: Bah, not a very thrilling chapter, but I'm sick so give me a break. D: Anyway, the next chapter will be much better, promise!

You know the drill, leave a review! '


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